One of the most misunderstood social networking sites is Yelp! Is it a social network, a location-based check-in game, or a review site? Well, the answer is “Yes†to all three.
Yelp! Is designed to give users the experience of a social network geared at connecting with other users while also leaving reviews of products/services/companies on the site. While Facebook Places, Google Places, Foursquare and many other location-based apps attempt to do the same thing, Yelp! is moving ahead at a pace that deserves attention.
Yelp! released growth statistics last week that indicate they are a marketing channel every brick-and-mortar business should be paying attention to. Here are some quick stats you should consider:
Yelp! currently boasts 41 million visitors monthly
Yelp! has 15 million reviews (at the time the report was released last Thursday) and counting
The growth curve for this site has been exponential over the last 5 years. This means we can continue to expect people to interact with the site, telling people where they’re doing business, and writing reviews
82% of Yelpers are under the age of 50, 36% aged 35-49.
68% are college grads, 21% with graduate education
63% earn $60k+, 35% earn $100k+
With these statistics, it’s hard to imagine why any business would not want to put their best foot forward. You can learn more about how to claim/list your business on Yelp! through a YouTube video they’ve provided.
Oh wait, I almost forgot, you do get stuff for claiming your business. Here’s some of what you can enjoy once you do claim your business:
Statistics on how many people are viewing your business on Yelp!
Ability to promote new offers, events, etc.
Ability to communicate, either publically or privately, with people who’ve reviewed your company. This allows you to address any dissatisfied customers/clients and make the relationship right again.
Increased exposure on traditional search engines
We’re on Yelp. Take a few minutes today and claim your company. Need help? Contact Josh (at NewThoughtMarketing dot com).
The fastest growing demo on Facebook is . . . Grandma! Actually, adults 55+, clearly not all of whom are grandparents. But staying in touch with family members is a primary motivating factor for “older” adults to join Facebook. This demo grew over 900% in 2009. Yep, 900%.
Any time a new medium bursts onto the scene, it seems that big brands and tech companies jump in and experiment, but it takes a few years before SMBs wade in. Understandably so, as SMBs typically have fewer marketing dollars and tend to spend them safely. They don’t have the time or money to experiment with untested, unproven tactics.
So I’m happy to report that social media’s been around long enough that we’re starting to see real results that SMBs can use to develop their social media marketing plans. This survey demonstrates that social media fans are more likely to buy from the brands that they support (on Facebook and Twitter, for example).
It seems like common sense, doesn’t it? Some of my favorite brands on Facebook are small ones. There’s a woman who started a company making necklaces for breastfeeding babies to fiddle with while nursing called “Mommy Necklaces.” She has nearly 3,500 fans on Facebook (including me) and does an outstanding job of interacting with them. She runs random Facebook-only promotions and giveaways – and I realize I’m only a test case of one – but I’ve bought several more necklaces than I would have as a result.
When someone “likes” you (or “fans” you, as it used to be called) on Facebook, they are essentially giving you permission to market to them. Your updates will appear in their Facebook stream (think of it as their Facebook home page). So while they’re checking out what their friends are up to, they’re also reading your posts. It’s a great way to promote discounts, contests, and ideas. If you’re a B-to-B company, use it to show off your smarts. Post articles or information that might interest your clients.
And when your followers post on your Facebook page, write them back! Thank them, respond to their comments, engage in a dialogue with them. You are forming a relationship online and more and more, these online relationships are becoming BIG drivers of word-of-mouth and new business.
My husband and I have Sigg water bottles. Have you heard of the brand? It’s what all the cool kids use to cart around their water. Better for the environment than plastic bottles and better than a lot of sports bottles because they’re BPA-free. BPA, or Bisphenol-A, is considered toxic by some countries (Canada has banned it) and is a source of controversy here in the States. Nevertheless, the environmentally conscious, and certainly Sigg’s consumers, are all about BPA-free bottles. So Sigg promoted themselves as BPA-free and they basically lied. It turns out their liners do contain small amounts of BPA. They did a little verbal sleight-of-hand by saying that their bottles didn’t “leach” BPA in tests.
They knew what they were saying. They knew it was dishonest. That they didn’t know they’d get caught is shocking and stupid.
I honestly don’t think there’s enough BPA in the bottles for it to be a problem. But I’m pissed that they lied and I, like millions others, will never buy another Sigg bottle again. This is a bummer. I liked them so much I’ve blogged about them on my personal blog. Even bought a cute custom wrap for my husband’s bottle.
And the CEO of Sigg does not seem to know a lick about damage control. Sure, he claims to be reading and responding to emails personally. But then he goes and says stupid things like, “if retailers keep our old bottles on the shelf, there’s nothing we can do about that.” (I’m paraphrasing slightly.) Dude! You should be out front, apologizing, replacing bottles like crazy, getting independent testing to verify that your bottles and liners are now 100% BPA-free, etc. Actually, you should resign and let someone else clean up your mess. Because you lied. You double downed on your lie when questioned about it, and you’ve broken the consumer’s trust. That’s hard to win back. And since nobody will trust a word you say, you should step aside and let someone else try to mend the fences.
I would not want to be this guy’s PR firm.
I once worked for a guy who asked me to lie to the media. I looked at him like he had two heads and refused. He told me that I was his Vice President, that I was playing in the big leagues, and that I needed to do what was expected of me. Regrettably, I didn’t tell him to go f-himself. Fortunately, the magazine did not pick up the story and none of us had to decide whether we were going to do as we were told or risk losing our jobs.
If Sigg’s CEO had really come clean and reached out as I described above, his customers might be forgiving. As it is, he just handed his competitors several market share points. Kleen Kanteen, here I come!
Footnote: I tried to link to Sigg’s Facebook page but it’s disappeared. Is some ticked off fan messing with them? Or are they shutting down their community to avoid letting people have a place to post negative messages? Do they actually think the conversation will stop? No, it’ll just move on to someplace else where they won’t get to insert their voice . . . like Twitter or blogs. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
On this subject, I know so much, and yet, so little. I know what most of you know from watching the news, following the tweets, reading the blogs. I know a little more because I’m half-Iranian and lived there as a kid for three years before the Revolution. I’m not sure that experience gives me any meaningful insight, but I feel as if I know the people, understand their passions, and share their longing for freedom.
I could weigh in on the current uprising, the politicians, the process, the government, the mullahs, but there are smarter, more informed bloggers and reporters (See Andrew Sullivan, the Lede, Nico Pitney)Â that can better educate you on those topics. So while I am blown away by the movement, and the courage of the protestors, what I want to write about today is the marketing of the movement.
Time magazine calls Twitter the “medium of the movement.†Much has been said about how Iranians are using Twitter to communicate with one another and with those of us outside the country who are watching. They are using it as an organizing tool (tweeting out what time and where the protests are occurring) and as an information-dispenser (tweeting out in real time what is happening, the beatings, the violence, the non-violence, etc.). The government shut down texting and almost shut down the Internet (they slowed it down to low, dial-up speeds to discourage people from uploading videos), but folks were able to use Twitter. And because the regime is monitoring Twitter, folks outside of the country helped the Iranians set up proxy servers to hide their Internet trails.
I’m sure Tom Friedman would call the revolution “flat.†In the past, when people protested (think Tiananmen Square), all most of us could do was helplessly watch it on TV. Today, Americans are engaged with the protestors, setting up the proxy servers, retweeting their news and information, helping to spread the news and photos to the world, all in defiance of the Iranian government. While we aren’t physically there, we are able to show our support, albeit limitedly. Hence, the “flat†world.
” . . . as a medium gets faster, it gets more emotional. We feel faster than we think. But Twitter is also just a much more personal medium. Reading personal messages from individuals on the ground prompts a whole other sense of involvement.” – NYU Professor Clay Shirky
It really is remarkable how the Internet has changed things. Before, if a government clamped down on its citizens, we might hear rumors and whispers. Today, we have thousands of cell phone pictures and videos distributed online almost immediately. We have real time, unedited “man on the street†reports in the form of tweets and blog entries. We have Facebook updates from the incumbent candidate and his opponents, like Mousavi. The Ayatollah reportedly even has a Facebook page.
What we don’t have enough of are reporters in the region, giving it all context. Most of what we’re receiving is raw and unedited, so “buyer beware.â€
The protestors are controlling the conversation right now. From a marketing standpoint, whoever controls the conversation “wins.†If I jump out of the box and claim that I’m supporting freedom, I’m automatically implying that you aren’t. If I get a whole bunch of people to agree with me – and find a way to get that word out – then guess what? I’m the freedom lover and you hate freedom. This is what we call positioning. And in the battle for the minds, the protestors are winning right now in spite of the government’s vast tools (they control the mass media and are reporting little on the protestors, they control the army, etc.). Social media has allowed the protestors to spread their news quickly all around the world. And the world is watching.
There is a lesson here for marketers as well. While we talk about social media and help our clients develop programs, at the end of the day, WE DON’T CONTROL THE CONVERSATION. The users do. We can set up the Facebook fan pages, the Twitter accounts, build initial followings, and create promotions to draw attention to our efforts. But at the end of the day, the people decide what they’re going to talk about and how often they’re going to talk.
And as the Iranians have shown us, if the people are passionate about their subject matter, nothing will stop them from communicating.
It’s Iran. It’s a country of 70 million people, about half of whom are under 25 and eager to share their thoughts and general displeasure with their government. The Internet allows them to voice their opinions and they are doing it en masse: Iran currently has about 100,000 active bloggers.
I’m half-Iranian. The lovely young woman you see pictured here is my dear aunt when she was young. She lives in Connecticut now, but I still have family in Iran. They are big fans of instant messenger services and we often connect that way. And while Iran can’t police the entire Internet, they do restrict some sites. I have not found an easy way to share photos, for example, as sites like Shutterfly are banned.
Marketing is, at its core, about communication. How we communicate ideas and to whom we communicate them. So I’ve always found that marketing and politics are close cousins but I’ve generally resisted blogging about that intersection. (Oh boy, was it tempting this year!) Still, I couldn’t resist this time because I was floored to find out how many bloggers there are over there. Imagine the social network they are developing. Now think about how much influence bloggers are having here in the States. Who knows where this could lead?
Twitter reigns as the de facto social media tool of 2008. But you’re probably wondering “what does its mega-popularity have to do with my business?” The answer: more than you think.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will attempt to build a solid business case for Twitter for every day business. Why? Because as you already know, we must evolve with the times. How we used to do business yesterday may not be as effective today. We’re committed to helping you cope with the dynamic marketplace and find realistic strategies for success. And I am a social media advocate. By the end, I will have either transformed you into an avid Twitter-er or crashed and burned. You decide.
First, let’s examine how Twitter will transform Public Relations.
As a public relations professional, I know there is nothing more important than relationship-building and relevancy. In the old days (3 years ago), we used to attend parties and networking events, host “lunch and learns” and hold press tours in order to establish an amicable, respectable relationship with our journos. When we pitched, it was that relationship that helped us place stories (hopefully) because we would know a journo’s beat, their preferred delivery method, tone, etc.
While the relationship-building still is at the epicenter of PR, there are tools on Twitter that help facilitate and add value to this process.
Jornchat is a live discussion every Monday 8-10pm EST where everyone from journalists, PR professionals, and students have the opportunity to work collaboratively and share insights.To participate, you simply type your comments in Twitter and include #journchat. By using a service such as search.twitter.com you can search for and follow all Tweets that included #journchat.
HARO (Help-A-Reporter-Out) is a daily newsletter produced by Peter Shankman that provides PR folks real details of reporters looking for experts and sources for their stories. However, Peter Shankman (@skydiver) uses Twitter to announce urgent requests, which are usually from major outlets like CNN and Washington Post and The Today Show.
MicroPR is a newly developed offering created by Brian Solis and Stowe Boyd. It connects journalists, bloggers, analysts and PR/marketing professionals together in a way that was unimaginable prior to Twitter. It aims to connect information, sources and stories to the people. Subscribe to the @MicroPR feed and definitely follow it on Twitter.
So for the public relations industry, Twitter is proving to be a fantastic representation of the changing media landscape and the role of social media: real people coming together online to share and discover new information.
We're the brains behind New Thought Marketing, a consulting firm based in Atlanta. When it comes to marketing, we know how to push the envelope and we know when to keep it simple. If you need assistance in strategic thinking, contact us. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy our blog.
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